Meg’s Endometriosis & Induced Menopause at 23

My name is Meg, I am 24 and am from the UK. I am a proud momma to my two little miracles, Rosie and Harry, and a wife to Warren who I have been with since I was 18. My life at the moment is madness, I have two little people who rely on me day in, day out and I have my own battles every day - I suffer from stage 3 endometriosis which has taken over my life since I was 11.

Endometriosis is tissue (similar to the womb) which grows outside of the womb and causes many problems for 1 out of 10 people - Which is just mental!

This year alone I have spent 38 days in a hospital, been put in an induced menopause with Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) for six months, had surgery to remove endometriosis, on top of countless scans, blood tests, MRI scans and 100s of prescriptions. And I am still waking up each day not right, but doing my best. I really struggle with painful, heavy periods, bad flare ups and swelling, painful sex, tender stomach, bowel issues, mental health and just have a bad immune system from it all. 

Over the years from the age of 11 to 19 I can’t even tell you how many appointments I have had or time off from school for my period and agonizing pain. It is an ongoing battle of being given different birth control such as the implant at age 13 and the pill, on top of those different pain killers, being told to write a diary, change my diet, and that they “didn’t know” why I was like this and that I was just “unlucky:”, which I knew was not right. At age 19, I was finally taken seriously and was referred for a laparoscopy. I remember being so excited for surgery in hopes that they would find out what the hell was wrong with me.

I remember waking up in recovery and I was crying, asking for my dad, and when they took me to my dad and the surgeon sat on my bed, she just had a look on her face which I knew wasn't good. “You have stage 3 endometriosis and we couldn’t even remove 50% of it, I am so sorry, Megan, but I will have to refer you to a endometriosis specialist”. I replied with “Okay, can I go now please"?”. I just didn’t know how to take the news. I cried for a while as I felt broken and angry that people didn’t take me seriously for years, questioning what this means. Will I have babies? Will I ever be okay? All of this was going through my head and I just wanted to go home. I went home that day and waited for the letter to see the endometriosis specialist. There weeks after surgery, I was back in hospital with Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) from surgery, which kept me in hospital a week on antibiotics and many different medications. 

I saw the endometriosis specialist two months after surgery. I went with my dad. The doctor sat us down and showed us the photos from surgery and explained what had been done and what had been left and what he would plan to do next. He then explained that he didn’t think I would be able to conceive naturally due to the endometriosis and I froze. I can’t even tell you what happened next in that appointment. All I remember is my dad holding my hand and him tearing up, I just didn’t speak.

I was silent in the car on the way home and then I cried for a good two weeks. However, the reason why I was crying was hormones… Why is that you ask? Well, by some miracle, I was pregnant with my little Rosie. I found out as I went to my neighbors for a drink and couldn’t stomach the wine and she asked “You’re not pregnant are you?”. I was so angry at the cheek of her asking me that, but for some reason she had a test and I took it to shut her up… however it shut me up with its two pink lines! I went to the shop and got every pregnancy test there and *boom* all positive. I called Warren to come over and handed him these tests - we were both so scared and excited. I contacted my consultant, who was so happy for me and said “it was a little miracle”. He agreed to operate after I had her and was ready. 

I contacted the Early Pregnancy Unit, who saw me straight away. I was under regular contact and had scans to keep an eye on the pregnancy from the get-go, which I am so thankful for. Rosie’s pregnancy was fine in general, I still would flare up and get pain, but I didn’t care as long as she was okay. The only bad thing was when I was in labor, I thought it was a flare up and just about got to the hospital at 8CM dilated and ready to have her. I breastfed her for 6 months and in those 6 months, my endometriosis was actually okay and I never felt better. 

After I had Rosie, I contacted the consultant who told me the best chances of having another baby are within the first year of having one so we decided to try once I stopped breastfeeding and had my first period. We were so lucky to fall pregnant the first time we tried and we were so happy as this was just amazing, however at 8 weeks, sadly I miscarried.

I started getting pains and went to the doctor, who sent me for a scan at the early pregnancy unit (EPU). When we looked, there was nothing on the screen and my blood showed my HCG dropping. And after a week, it came away naturally. I was so broken, I felt failed by my body, and then I felt greedy as I already had this beautiful baby girl who was perfect while others have nothing. I was numb and felt lost in a way. But my little family helped me each and every step of the way. Me and Warren decided to wait and see how things go. I didn’t get a period after miscarrying and I kept getting negative pregnancy tests, so I felt like my body was broken. I had blood tests done on a Monday which showed my HCG at 2, so not pregnant. Then ten days later, I did another pregnancy test as I still had no period and *boom* two big fat pink lines. I had one more blood test and my HCG went up to 1800+! At the next scan, this time it was different (the last time I went in that room, they told me there was no baby, so I wasn't excited, I was scared). They did the internal scan and there was not 1 but 2 sacs!!! Thats right - 2 BABIES. I would have 3 under 2, as Rosie was so little, I just couldn’t believe it. Both sacs had fetal poles but no heartbeat yet. So two weeks later we went again, but this time more bad news, one sac had vanished. This is called ‘vanishing twin syndrome’ which is normal and often people would never know as it happens before the normal 12-week scan. 

But I did end up with a good pregnancy with Harry until 25 weeks. And then we went into lockdown, thanks COVID! And due to being high risk, I was in isolation from the get-go. I had my baby boy in the summer of 2020 and Rosie was only 17 months old, but my family was complete. 

Rolling into January 2021, I stopped feeding Harry and was in the hospital within three weeks due to the endometriosis coming back with vengeance. I felt so poorly and couldn’t cope and was put into induced menopause until they could do surgery, I was in menopause at age 23 for six months. They would do this via an injection called Zoladex and it would always bruise so badly and was awful. My first stay was in February, 2020. By Dec 2020, I have stayed in hospital 38 days which has been awful due to COVID, unable to see my children or family or friends honestly broke me. I could use FaceTime and the staff were amazing, but this year my mental health has rocked side to side because of these hospital stays and because of my general health. Before this, I had never been away from my children before so I found it so hard and spent a lot of time crying. 

In June, I had a three hour surgery to remove the endometriosis which was a success but still had some spots left behind. I am still in ongoing investigations as my bowel and heart is being impacted, which I believe to be from my pain and medications. I still have endometriosis issues which are being investigated by another specialist in Feb 2021. 

I have still struggled a lot day to day but I am so lucky to have such good support around me. My family and friends are my rocks. I have never felt so much love and support before. I do wish that some would understand endometriosis a bit more as some people do compare me to others who have endometriosis, and they need to realize no two cases are the same and what may work for one person won’t for another. I write about my story a lot on an Instagram page called @endolifewithmeg where I post about the highs and the lows of my journey and also educate others on endometriosis. I am wanting to make a change. Endometriosis is so common but what is not common is being listened to and having the correct diagnosis the first time. 

Each day I get by with the support of my friends and family and with the smiles of my two children. I get up each day fighting for them and do everything for them. The main person in my life who has helped me is my husband, Warren. He’s been there through all the highs and the lows and supported me every single step of the way. Now I know I have to be strong for them and everything I do is for them. 

Today - I am currently fighting for a hysterectomy as I believe this would help me. It would not be a cure as there isn’t one BUT it would be a help. I plan on no more children as I have my perfect two.

I hope this is a positive story for others that miracles do happen, I have two of them. However, please remember and be thoughtful to others. Pregnancy does not cure endometriosis and having endometriosis can and does cause fertility issues.

You can follow Meg and learn about her journey with endometriosis on Instagram @endolifewithmeg.